Working in med school

10+ Year Member

Hello,
What kinds of jobs have you been able to find in med school that pay moderately well? I'm entering med school in the fall but I will only have to take Anatomy and a patient-physician class so I have plenty of time to hold a job. I pass out of the other classes by doing well in a special masters program. I have been looking for jobs this summer near the med school, hoping to continue with that job in the fall. Most of the jobs listing that I come across are medical technologist and medical transcriber position. How long does it take to become a certified medical technologist or medical transcriber with a MS degree? What are some other jobs that are suitable for med students? Thanks.

7+ Year Member

Hello,
What kinds of jobs have you been able to find in med school that pay moderately well? I'm entering med school in the fall but I will only have to take Anatomy and a patient-physician class so I have plenty of time to hold a job. I pass out of the other classes by doing well in a special masters program. I have been looking for jobs this summer near the med school, hoping to continue with that job in the fall. Most of the jobs listing that I come across are medical technologist and medical transcriber position. How long does it take to become a certified medical technologist or medical transcriber with a MS degree? What are some other jobs that are suitable for med students? Thanks.

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Working in medical school is a very bad idea, IMHO. I know a few people who've done it - but rarely without considerable cost to their GPAs. If you're taking a small class load (and your schedule sounds weird to me - everybody in my class takes the same courses at the same time regardless of background and I've never heard of anything different), you should probably focus on studying ahead. It's hard to describe how difficult just the culture shock of adjusting to medical school can be - the responsibilities of a job are only going to make it worse. If you're taking on $40-50K a year in debt (or more), do you really think working is going to help much? Medical schools give you a manageable (not generous, but manageable) amount of money to live on - which can be adjusted for special circumstances - because they want you to study, not work. Also, if you ever ran into academic difficulty for any reason, your academic standards committee will take a very dim view of the fact that you're working.

If you're determined to work, at least wait until your second semester of first year. Just my $.02.

7+ Year Member

I babysat (& still do during rotations) If you like kids, it's fun, t's easy cash and you make your own schedule. If I babysit 2x / week thats ~$100

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That, I admit, would be a fantastic med student job. But nobody will let me baby-sit. Heck, all I said was that I am going to refuse to see pediatric patients unless they're pre-loaded with Benadryl in the waiting room. Or maybe it was the time I said that a bottle with orange juice and a good shot of bourbon will quiet just about any kid down. Not sure. I'm just not a peds kinda guy.

10+ Year Member

Thanks everyone.
Nontradtulsa: some schools offer a special master program in which students can take some of the same classes with med students and be graded on the same curve. It is geared toward helping med school applicants with decent MCAT but mediocre GPA to prove to the admission committee that they can do the academic work. I was in one of these programs and the med school is nice enough to use my grades from these classes in sub for the equivalent med school classes, so that's why I have a lighter schedule than others coming in.

It sounds like the most flexible job is MCAT tutoring. Do you know what teaching center offer the best rate or condition? I'm thinking of teaching for Kaplan because I want that discount for purchasing Kaplan USMLE materials, but I heard that Kaplan salary is really low compared to other institutions (around $15).

7+ Year Member

BARTEND! only time commitment is fri and/or sat nights..by the time you start work, you're already done with studying for the day. I'll admit it can be a pain in the ass to run around behind a bar for 6 hours on a weekend-night when u could be on the other side gettin loose with your friends. It's def. a matter of high return/minimal investment tho.

Is it possible to do some research throughout the school year? how many hours would be ok without a drop in grades (my school is not pass/fail ((( )

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This is so individual student dependant that no one can give you a useful answer. Your smartest move is to start off med school just focusing on the classes and see how it goes. If, after a couple of exams, you find you have more than enough time to do well and take on more committments, then line up that research job. Some students have time to do research, others need to limit it to the summer or take a year off to do it.

(The OP is in a different situation, because s/he is apparently taking fewer classes thanks to carry over credits.)

7+ Year Member

Anybody get work/study money as part of their Finacnial Aid? I got a couple grand, and I'm not sure if I should do it. Anyone have any experience with this?

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You can use it to work in the summer. As a matter of fact, your financial aid package normally does not include summer). You really don't want to work during your first semester of medical school. I'm using my workstudy to go abroad this summer!

7+ Year Member

Kaplan starts at $18/hr to teach the MCAT. I believe PR starts at $20/hr (at least in Ohio). Kaplan's pay scale is different depending on what test you teach; for example, if you teach the ACT or SAT, you'll get paid a lot less than the MCAT. But be warned: you must teach it their way!